Through a Soldier's Eyes
by Digi Garden
Summary: (A Phantom Brave fic.) (Ch. 2 up) At the "special place" under the hole, Phantom (main character) finds out he wasn't the only Soldier on the Isle.
1. Default Chapter

Just like the title says, this is from the Point of View (POV) of a Soldier from Phantom Brave. And I don't own anybody from _Phantom Brave_!

As I dashed through the battlefield, the sweat on the back of my neck caused my red-brown hair that fell down to my shoulders to cling onto my neck. The war raged on in this desert of a valley, and the shade I received from my ivory white helmet didn't help me much. The sweat from my body trickled all over, slightly stinging the wounds on my arms and shoulders as well as my back and face.

Far in the distance, I saw another soldier sitting under a willow tree, about fifteen years old, which is my age, wearing the same helmet and wearing the same exact forest green dress I wore. He also had the same large, round nose I had, and the same hair like mine, only his seemed a bit longer. I ran closer and closer, the setting sun slowly beating down on me less and less. When I finally reached the shady tree, the other soldier stood up and asked, "What took you so long?" Then he saw the scars and wounds I had and asked, "Goodness gracious! Are you okay?"

I replied with a nod and fell to my knees in exhaustion. The soldier shook his head and looked through my small, brown bag, and then took out a white box with a red cross-like sign that labeled in red letters "First Aid". He opened the box and took out some kind of cream in a tube. He rubbed the cream on my scratches, which at first stung, but then cooled down from the cool evening wind. Then he put the tube of cream back into the box, and took out a roll of white bandages and wrapped them over my wounds.

After he finished wrapping the bandages, he stared at me with sharp, light brown eyes that somehow seemed to gleam through the shade of his helmet. I lowered my head, took off my helmet, and said with a hoarse voice, "Th… thank you."

The soldier also took off his helmet and replied, "No problem! 'Specially since you're my best friend." Then he closed his eyes and laid his back onto the trunk of the tree and continued, "I remember when we first met at practice. Don't you?"

I nodded. I closed my eyes and remembered what happened two years ago. An army of demons destroyed my village, so I decided to join the army to avenge my sister. On the first day of practice, I had trouble wielding a silver axe that lengthened as twice my size, and felt twice as heavy. But then _he_ came and taught me how to handle the axe so I won't fall from its weighty might. And after a couple of weeks, we became good friends.

Thinking about it made me start to sleep. Unfortunately, my moment of rest stopped suddenly when my friend shook me and shouted, "Wake up! The enemy's coming closer! I can hear it."

I shook my head violently, stood up, and said, "Well, what are you waiting for? We have to hurry before--"

A flickering sound cut me off. My friend, with a lighter in one hand and a stick of dynamite in the other, he flicked the lighter until he created a small fire and placed it under the fuse wire of the dynamite. "Dammit! Get outta here before we _both_ down with them!"

The fuse of the dynamite stick started to spark crazily as my friend grabbed his helmet and threw the stick. I grabbed my helmet as well, and we ran behind a rock placed not too far from the tree and looked over. We watched the dynamite roll frenziedly over the grassy hill, and we covered our ears, expecting the sound of a big explosion.

Unfortunately, we didn't hear a sound. But then we heard the sound of a flickering getting closer and closer. We didn't notice the cause of the sound until it became too late.

_BOOM!_

The last thing I thought to myself before my body flared up from the explosion was… _I guess our plan backfired on us._

A year after my death, I heard a young girl's voice shout, "_Chartreuse Summon!_" Next thing I know, I found myself on a sandy seashore looking down to a girl with green hair, green eyes, and wearing a white dress and brown shoes. I looked around me and saw a two-story house made of wood, a couple of palm trees, a piece of machinery that looks like a sub on water beside the house, and a green, cabbage-like spirit with yellow eyes.

I asked the girl, "Where am I? Aren't I supposed to be dead?"

The girl giggled and answered, "Well, technically, you _are_ dead, but as a Chroma, I… Well, this is kinda hard to explain, but to make things short, you're a Phantom."

I looked at her in surprise as a young male that looks older than I am, with navy blue spiky hair that flows to the right, wearing a tan shirt with long sleeves and black rings on the front, as well as matching tan boots, appeared next to the girl. The male also had a long, magenta scarf around his neck that streamed down his back.

The girl said, "Oops! I forgot to introduce everybody!" She pointed to herself and says, "my name is Marona. I'm thirteen years old!" Then she pointed to the male standing next to her and continued, "This is Ash. You can say he's my guardian."

Suddenly, a teenager with spiky brown hair, glasses, and wearing a royal blue, yellow, and white shirt and matching pants, and a light brown backpack appears a few feet from me and said excitedly, "I am the Merchant. I'm not exactly a great fighter, but you can buy items from me. Mainly weapons."

Then a woman wearing a forest green Chinese dress and has long, black hair held up in a bun appears next to the Merchant and says calmly, "I am the Healer. In battle, I have less-than-average attack strength, but my healing powers are helpful. Also, you can talk to me in case you need to heal."

After her, the cabbage-like creature calls out, "And I am a Whisp. If you need help with anything about the island, just ask me."

I stared in curiosity at the ragtag team, blushed and smiled. "Well, Heaven or not, as long as I'm here, I guess I'll try to enjoy it here." Suddenly, I feel as if something was lifting the back of my dress.

An athletic man, obviously way older than me, with spiky red-brown hair that slanted to the back, and wearing a green headband, a brown vest and brown pants that were rolled up to above the knees. He also had silver metal on the back of his hands, his wrists, his upper arms, and from the knee down. He said with a deep, husky voice, "Who's the new girl, the Big-Nosed Dork?" He let go of the back of my dress and chuckled.

I waved my hand to him and told him to come closer. He crouched down to my level, and I told him to come closer. He put his face inches close to my nose, and then I punched him in the nose. He fell onto his back, and Marona kicked him in the shin, calling him a "bad boy".

Ash looked down to the man and introduced me. "This is a Soldier. _He_ will be living on the island like everyone else here." Then Ash looked at me and introduced me to the man. "This is the Fighter. He can be an idiot at times, but you'll probably get used to it."

Marona and Ash took me on a short tour of the island and inside of the house. After the tour, the Merchant waved to me and told me to follow him. The Merchant whispered, "I know a special spot that only the other spirits, Ash, and me know where it is. Follow me!" We walked to the back of the island, where under all the terraced hilltops, a small opening stands out on the ground, with the gentle waves trying to reach inside. The Merchant jumped in, then called out to me in a loud whisper to jump. So, reluctantly, I looked around to see if anyone else was looking, then jumped into the hole.

Sorry if I left a cliffhanger ending. ;; I'm not too sure if I'm able to update it. Maybe from time to time, when I'm not updating _Not Normal_ or any other stories that come by.


	2. Special Time

Just to let you know, I'm sorry I haven't updated this in, like, forever. But I _did_ say that I would update this only from time to time or when I feel like it. I found out about the Merchant's costume that definitely makes this story inaccurate in terms of her appearance. Hopefully, that'll be fixed in this chapter. Also, I'm thinking about actually putting this story in the POV of one of my soldiers rather than (if you were thinking of this at first) the default Soldier or a random Soldier, and try to base the story mainly on my progress in _Phantom Brave_.

As I continued falling down the seemingly endless tunnel that heads downwards, I pulled my dress down, hoping the Merchant didn't see. Then, below me was a blinding light, and seconds later, I found myself landing face-first onto a soft, red carpet.

_Wait a minute. Carpet? Where am I_, I thought to myself as I lifted myself from the ground. The area around me looked like some kind of luxurious bar and spa, with the long, red carpet, which covers only part of the wooden floor, rolling down the direction straight ahead. Like an aristocrat's paradise or something of the sort. And in several meters in front of me was an entryway that seemed to split into three hallways.

The Merchant blushed as she looked at me and said, "Stay right here. I'm gonna change in the dressing room." She then ran down the direction of the red carpet, and turned and dashed down the far hallway to the left.

_Well, now that I'm alone… and new here, I might as well look around. _I walked up to the rather large booth, where the bar was, and sat on one of the leather seats, supported by a thick steel pole with a small platform bolted down holding it. I leaned my upper body towards the table, considering the fact that, to me, the seat felt a bit too far from the counter.

The bartender, who happened to be the Healer, noticed me and asked in a calm, gentle manner, "So, new kid, how are you today?" For a second there, I thought I saw her wink at me. But it must've been my imagination. I nodded and said I was doing fine, and that I think I was getting used to things by now. "By the way, did Marona name you anything?"

"Name," I replied, confused.

"When Marona summons a spirit for the first time, she names—or nicknames—them." I shook my head slowly. "Hmm…" The Healer snapped her fingers like she just had an idea. "You know, I've been wanting to see this play for a while now. _Phantom of the Opera_, it's called. For some reason I can't quite get, you remind me of the Phantom. And since we're all phantoms here, it makes sense out of the word." She pointed her index finger at me and concluded, "I'll call you… 'Phantom'!"

When she asked if I liked the name, I looked down and thought about it. Then slowly, I cracked a small smile, which then progressed to a grin. "Sounds good. I love it! Thanks… Umm…" Then it came to me: I didn't know _her_ name!

Before I tried to say another word, the Chinese woman raised a hand at me, signaling me to stop. "No need to worry. My name is Oren Ishi. Marona named me herself." Oren dug her hand underneath my helmet and ruffled my brown hair. "But _I_ named _you_."

Just after Oren removed her hand from me, I heard the Merchant's voice cry out, "I'm done!" I turned over to find—er, _her_ wearing a black leather top, with matching short shorts so short, small bits of her white underwear was exposed, jacket that was cut off around the upper body area, and boots that reach her shorts, and are connected to her black leather belt. She put her hands around her waist and bent a leg, trying to make her pose look sexy. "So, what do you think?"

I blushed as I attempted to look elsewhere and answered reluctantly, "Uh, well… It's… nice, but..."

"But what," the Merchant interrupted as she pointed at her glasses. She spoke rapidly as she gestured on the subject, "It's my glasses, isn't it? Whenever I show this around to everybody, people stutter and stuff like that, and I think it might be the glasses. I don't know, but they should make some kind of clear cover for your eyes that can make people see well without having to deal with these _things_, ya know?"

Attempting to change the subject, I replied, "Well, to be honest… I want to ask for your name." The brown-haired girl stopped moving for a short moment, then pointed at her face and said, "Usually I don't say my name to strangers. You know, let them find out by themselves." She smiled and continued, "But since you asked so nicely, I guess I could make an exception." She shot out her right hand and greeted, "My name's Harry. Harry Potter. Let's hope to be friends…"

Staring at her hand, then her face, I gave her my hand and shook it gently. "Yes, let's. My name's Phantom."

After we let go of each other's hands, the Fighter from earlier came by us and pushed my helmet downwards, towards my eyes. "Hey, pipsqueak. How's it been?"

I pushed my helmet back up and replied, getting a bit annoyed, "Pretty well, until _you _came along."

The Fighter waved his right hand, brushing off my annoyance with him. "I came to apologize for earlier. Well, you're pretty small, and you look no older than Marona's age. Which probably gave me the mistake that you're a girl."

I stood upright to him, despite his size, and corrected, "For your information, I'm only five foot three, and I'm fifteen years old. What could make you make _that_ mistake?"

He eyed me for a moment, then he said, "Well, you look kinda scrawny. Especially compared to someone like Game and Watch."

I raised a brow at his remark. "Game and Watch? Who—or what—is…"

Suddenly, a tall, athletic male that looks like me, but older, walked up to me and squatted to my level. "Well, well, well. Another Soldier. At least I won't feel left out now." Like what Oren did to me earlier, the stranger ruffled my hair and asked, "So, what's your name, kiddo?"

"My name's Phantom. What's yours?"

The Fighter butted into the conversation as he squatted next to the stranger. "Forgot to introduce myself. Name's Lan." Lan pointed to the stranger, and continued, "This is Game and Watch. The guy I mentioned earlier." As Lan and Game and Watch stood up, he noticed I was staring and asked, "What're you staring at?"

I stuttered, "H-h-h-he's b-b-big!" It seemed true from my point of view, considering I'm only three inches taller than the five-foot mark. Especially compared to what seemed like almost like a seven-foot version of me, even though he couldn't possibly be _that_ tall.

Game and Watch chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "Shucks. I'm only six-and a half feet."

I stared in shock at his remark. _Six-and a half feet? Is that even possible?_

Lan glared at the tall Soldier and shouted, "What? That's four inches taller than _me_! How is that even possible?"

Game and Watch, in an attempt to change the subject, said, "Hey, kid, want a drink? It's on me." Reluctantly, I nodded, wondering about why he's being so nice to me.

Oren said to me as she walked back to the area behind the bar counter, "One small and one large, coming right up!"

I tried to call her, but Game and Watch stopped me with his arm. "Don't worry. I think she knows what you want." He lowered his arm. "But until then, do you want to try out the spa?" I nodded my head in certainty, and then he grabbed my hand and led me straight down the hallway, which led to a large room with a Jacuzzi in the northwestern corner of the room. Four pearl white massage tables lined up vertically in the eastern side of the room, and six small, blue mats lay on the center of the floor, spread out in rows of two, and with the green Whisp (from earlier) sitting on the floor in front of the mats. He then left me alone.

Apparently, like with me, the Whisp wasn't the only one, either. On the first one in the first row in front of it was one with the same color, but slightly smaller. To its right was an autumn leaf brown-colored Whisp with light brown eyes, and next to that one was a snow white one with bright, yellow eyes. And the one behind the brown one sat a bluish Whisp with light blue eyes. The leading Whisp started stretching, the others copying its every move.

I walked up to the default-colored (the green) Whisp and tapped its shoulder. It turned around, its yellowish eyes staring at mine in a creepy manner. The leader said to me, "I beg your pardon, but please don't interrupt the students during their lesson. Or at least, not during their stretches. Because if you don't stretch, you might pull something!" I slowly stepped away, apologizing to the "teacher".

Before it resumed its stretches, the green Whisp student greeted, "Sorry our introduction's so short. My name's Snow Pea. Well, bye!" Then Snow Pea joined the other students in "leg stretches", which consists of them splitting the leaf-like, almost cloud-like, fronds of aura apart from beneath them into a "V"-shape in front of them. I found this even creepier than their almost unblinking eyes.

Stepping away from the "class" area, I found Lan in the Jacuzzi, his jacket lying on the rail, with Harry, still wearing her black outfit. Shyly, I took off my shoes and touched the water with my right big toe. The water felt warm, almost steaming hot! I quickly removed my toe from the water, and Harry invited me in. "C'mon! It'll be fun," she grinned.

I was suddenly stuck between going into practically boiling hot water, or being like a chicken and reject the offer. As I pondered the thought, Lan stepped out of the Jacuzzi, his shorts dripping wet, and said, "I know a place even better than in here." He gestured for me to follow him as he left the room. So I did as he commanded.

Outside, on the shore of Phantom Isle, with the sand soaking up the waves, the white foam bringing in driftwood to the shore, and the soles of my bare feet clinging sand to themselves, Lan pointed up to the sky and told me to look up. I did so, and a surprised look covered my face. The sky had no dark, shadowed clouds at all; it seemed pitch black, with gleaming stars and a crystal clear crescent moon as the only source of illumination. I felt most amazed at the reflection of the moonlight flowing in the dark, salty waters of the ocean that splashed gently against the edges of the small island.

"So, do you like it," Lan asked as he turned his head towards me. I slowly nodded my head, mesmerized from the pure, bright beauty of the night. Lan said in a relaxed manner as he looked up towards the sky, "In my opinion, the best part is swimming in the ocean. The waves, the light… You should give it a try. You might like it."

I looked down in reaction to his offer of swimming. I've never swam before, and honestly, I've become afraid of the ocean after an incident from when I tried at age four. My uncle, whose name I can't remember, helped keeping me afloat. Until suddenly, he let me go, and I attempted to stroke, dog paddle, but I couldn't keep my head above the water, and so, I simply stopped swimming. I made a stupid choice at the time, but I guess somebody would do it, too, if they had the feeling almost as if air could barely get in through his or her windpipe whenever water reaches up to the neck.

Also, the water reminded me of Marona for some reason. Marona reminds me of my sister, even though I don't remember a lot of what she looks like, but I _do_ remember that she had a kind, naïve personality to her. And I remember the only memento of her that I kept even after the fire in my hometown: a stuffed Putty plush toy. I remembered the doll's pale skin, the light green shaggy hair, the red button eyes, and the almost realistic features of its green leafy dress and pointy hat. Even after I joined the army, at night, I would take it out of my small, forest-green suitcase, and cuddle up to it in my sleep.

Just then, a hand waved in front of me as a familiar deep, husky voice called out, "Hello? Earth to Phantom, here!" I snapped back to reality as Lan, the owner of the voice said, "So? You want to try?" I told him I would need to think about it, and he walked away.

I steadily walked towards the edge of the shore, to where the water reached out to try to grab me by the legs. _I feared the ocean once, but I shall fear it no more!_ But for some odd reason, my legs wouldn't budge. They felt glued to the ground, probably because they can sense my fear. _Enough of this, Phantom! That was then, this is now._ I attempted to conquer my fear by taking a slow, careful step forward.

It seemed easy, as I continued to take a few more steps, feeling more certain and unafraid with each one. By the time the water reached my waist, I took off my dress and threw it to the shore. Then I dunked my head into the water, closing my eyes and holding onto my helmet, as well as my breath. In a second, I jumped back up, my now wet, dark brownish hair flowing gracefully, and the drops of water on my skin glittering like the stars in the clear sky.

I took another breath, and went into the water again, this time keeping my eyes open. The salt got into my eyes, and it seemed so dark underneath, but I swam anyway. I explored portions of the ocean, guided by the light of the moon and the luminous glow of several strange fish that seem to have small lights on their sides. _I never knew the ocean could be so elegant… So beautiful. I don't want this moment to end._

Unfortunately, it had to. It started getting late, as a thin touch of orange and violet sunlight rose from behind the terraced hills beside the blue-roofed house, along with the fact that my eyes felt like they burned from the salt water. So I stepped onto the shore, and as exhausted as I felt, I lay on the sandy land and closed my eyes.

But my ideas of sleeping were interrupted as some force started kicking me. I opened my eyes to see a Soldier about my age (at least, he looks like it), appearance, and height, but with tan skin, brown dress, blonde hair, and a small hint of light brown to his helmet. The Soldier crossed his arms and asked, "Are you by the name 'Phantom'?" I nodded my head, and he shouted, "Well, just to let you know, I dub you my rival, or my name isn't… Nega Phantom!"

Another cliffhanger to add to the story:P And just to let you know, I _never_ had the Whisps before Phantom, nor Nega Phantom. But I just had to add them, ASAP. And, yes, I know some of the names sound kinda lame, but some to most of the custom characters are named after copyrighted characters and a couple after characters I made up. :) And there _will_ be more Soldiers, as well as more characters of newer races, and changes will happen to Phantom and co. Because of something called… _titles_! evil laugh Anyway, stay tuned for either Chapter 3, _or_, possibly, a preview for another Phantom Brave fic I had an idea of.


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